Guber Poll: Court Stops Edo PDP from Conducting Congresses

 Guber Poll: Court Stops  Edo PDP from Conducting Congresses

A High Court in Benin City, Edo State, has granted an interim injunction restraining the leaders of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by its Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, from conducting any congresses until the hearing of the substantive matter brought before it.

PDP members at the weekend stated what they described as alleged clandestine plot by the current state leadership of the party to hold what they described as ‘illegal’ congress across the state even when a suit challenging their continued stay in office following the expiration of their tenure in September 2015 is still pending in court.

Among the members, Ehi Osula from ward 12 in Oredo, and others had gone to court urging it to declare as illegal the continued stay in office of the current leadership of the party whose tenure allegedly expired on September 24, 2015. But despite the suit, the Orbih-led PDP concluded plans to conduct congresses across the 192 wards in the state from February 24 2016, ahead the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Consequently, the appellant, through their counsel, Matthew Edaghese and Co, filed a motion asking the court to restrain the Orbih-led executive from conducting the congresses until hearing of the motion on notice.

Justice E. Ikpomnwen granted the injunction and fixed hearing on the motion on notice till February 29, 2016. Counsel to the appellants, Edaghese, who spoke to journalists shortly after the proceedings, said: “We have served the national leadership of the party all the court processes, so as it is now, they cannot conduct any congress or take any action until the hearing of the substantive suit.”